Heritage sites, Archaeological discoveries, History of Archaeology

Diring Yuriakh

Location

central Siberia

Country

Russia

Year of Research

1.8 million years

Culture

Lower Paleolithic artifacts has been recovered from a single occupation surface with in stratified deposits at Diring Yuriakh, an archaeological site in the central Siberia.

Diring Yuriakh is a controverial early hominid site in the Siberian region of Russia, believed to have been occupied around 300,000 years ago, with an Olduvai-like pebble tool assemblage.

The original excavator Yuri Mochanov has argued for an age of of 1.8 million years, but the thermoluminescence date of 270,000 years old is still quite astonishing, almost 240,000 years older than any other archaeological site in Siberia.

Thermoluminescence age estimates from an eolian sediments indicate that they cultural horizon is the greater than 260,000 years old.

Diring Yuriakh is an order of magnitude older than documented Paleolithic sites in Siberia and is important for understanding the timing of human expansion into the far north,early adaptations to cold climates, and the peopling of the Americas.